Chinese Communist Party official sentenced to death in China's largest corruption case

Beijing: A former Chinese Communist Party official, accused of embezzling a staggering $421 million - the largest-ever corruption case in China's history, was sentenced to death by a court in Inner Mongolia.

The Higher People’s Court of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Tuesday turned down the appeal by Li Jianping, who was sentenced to death in September 2022 for corruption, bribery, embezzlement and engaging in organised crime.

He was found guilty by an intermediate court for pocketing a staggering 3 billion yuan ($421 million) in illegal gains — the largest sum involved in a single corruption case in China's history, Chinese news portal Caixin Global reported.

The ruling would be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for final examination and approval, said the court.

The court ruling found him guilty of multiple crimes, noting his extreme malice, severe social impact and the gravity of his offences, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Li, 64, once headed a special economic zone in Hohhot and the city’s water management authority. He is the third official to be sentenced to death after being found guilty of graft since 2007 when China tightened the death penalty after Lai Xiaomin, former chairman of state-owned China Huarong Asset Management Co. Ltd., and Zhang Zhongsheng, a former vice mayor of Luliang in Shanxi province.

Li was a mid-level local official in the Chinese bureaucratic system, with his corrupt behaviour and prosecution flying largely under the public’s radar.

His downfall in late 2018 attracted little attention at first, but as more details emerged, his case shocked the nation due to the huge amounts involved, the report said.

Li has been accused of using his position as the Communist Party chief and director of Hohhot Water Authority from 2001 and as secretary of the party working committee of the Hohhot Economic and Technological Development Zone a decade later to collect 578 million yuan (about USD 83 million) in exchange for favours relating to construction projects and business contracts.

He also maintained close contact with a leader of a criminal syndicate and condoned the organisation's illegal activities, Xinhua reported.